


Refraction: A Magic Mirror

by FuzzyTheNarwhal



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Confusion, Gen, Magic Mirrors, Mirrors, Reflection, Regret, Shadows - Freeform, shoulder angel shoulder devil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29004402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuzzyTheNarwhal/pseuds/FuzzyTheNarwhal
Summary: Somethings hidden are meant to stay hidden.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 36





	1. Magic Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so this is my story I made. The events are a little bit out of order and the timings weird, but you're gonna have to deal with it because it's like that for story purposes. I hope you enjoy, and would love feedback!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, very minor blood warning here. So if you're sensitive, just be aware.

Scar and Grian were suspended high above the void, bridging from end island to end island. They had been traveling from end city to end city in search of an end ship, so that they might obtain the treasure that lay inside.

"Do you have you lucky crystal on you?" Scar asked, having given Grian some "enchanted crystals" before they started their journey, to keep them safe.

"Uh, yep!" responded Grian, throwing the green piece of glass into the void.

"Thank god," Scar continued, "I, uh, you know, NO!" Scar yelled, seeing the "crystal" fall into the never ending depths of the void.

"That was magic, man!" he said, while Grian just laughed, "That was worth a fortune of silver and gold! Yo-You've brought bad luck upon us?!"

"No no no, we'll be fine," Grian snickered, "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Just, at least hold the health one," Scar sighed, "My gosh,"

"OK," responded Grian, throwing the other one into the void bellow them.

"Man," Scar muttered, then yelped again when seeing the red glass disappear beneath them.

  
As they continued onto the island, the red dressed hermit spotted another city in the distance.

"I see one! I see one!" he said, "Don't get your hope up like we did last time. There might not be a ship, and it might have already been looted,"

"Oh no!" the bearded wizard replied, "Wait, no, I see it there is!"

Grian squealed and went to stack up to the ship, fighting off a shulker bullet in the process. When he was on level with the hull, he broke into the wall with his pickaxe and went to claim his prize. An elytra. He held the familiar object in his hands before putting it on. It was hard and slightly rubbery, and reminded the builder of a bugs wings. He slipped the elytra onto his back, testing out the familiar motions of gliding before calling out to his friend.

"OK, now I'll go fly around to look for another elytra for you, just like the plan?"

"Yep, I'll head back and meet you by the portal!" the wizard replied.

Grian smiled and jumped ship, activating his elytra. He pulled out the rockets he had stashed in his pocket, and flew out over the islands and chorus tree forests.

After flying for what seemed like ages, he finally spotted another end city, with a boat that had not yet been looted. The hermit flew down onto the boat and headed down the stairs bellow the deck. He grabbed the elytra and turned around to head back up to the deck when he noticed something under the stairs. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, but it was still there. On closer inspection, the strange object proved to be a mirror. It was full length, and the frame was carved into detailed designs.

"Scar," Grian said, "There's a weird thing here,"

"What?" the other hermit said worriedly, "What is it?"

"It's a mirror," Grian responded, "It's frame is very detailed, hang on, is this, I think there's galactic text!"

"Galactic!?" Scar said surprised, "Can you tell what it says?"

"Uh, yes! Somehow I can read it," the red shirted hermit spoke.

"It says 'Little voice inside your head, come to life once spell is said. A shadow of reflection calls, with words a mere refraction stalls. Another one to take your place, with blood on gem it has your face'. Well isn't that ominous."

"Don't touch it. Leave it alone," the wizard responded, "If I know magic, and I **_do_** know magic, a relic like that will only bring bad things. You got the wings, right? Come back here and lets finish our quest,"

Grian mmf-ed in reply, but didn't leave just yet. That poem had mentioned a gem, right? Well there was one adorning the top of the frame. He carefully went up and touched it, then immediately recoiled back with a yelp. Looking at his hand, he saw a stream of blood trickling down from the palm. Before he could do anything else, the gem began to glow as a light went out in a wave through the text, before it went dark. The builder stood there for a moment before he noticed Scar talking to him.

"Grian?! Are you OK? I heard a noise! Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Grian responded, shaking his hand, "Just tripped, that's all,"

The purple robed hermit sighed, then laughed, "Well hurry on back, OK? I'm getting impatient for my wings!"

Grian laughed, ran up the stairs and jumped over the railing, gliding off towards the main island. The strange mirror worried him a bit, but he shrugged it off. Worst case scenario, he got some weird powers from it. After all, what had he said earlier?

"What could possibly go wrong?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh hi so this is the first thing I ever post on here, so i'm a little bit nervous. I've never shown anyone but friends or family my work, so i'm hoping it goes well. feedback would be appreciated! I hope you enjoy!


	2. Upon Later Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every morning the new queen would look into her magic mirror and say,  
> 'Mirror, mirror on the wall,  
> Who is the fairest in the land?'  
> And the mirror would always reply,  
> 'Thou, oh queen,  
> Thou art fairest in the land.'"  
> \- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, By The Brothers Grim

It was dark by the time that Grian glid home, and he was tired. He had done many things that day, but the end bust had drained him the most. He landed in front of his hobbit hole and walked inside. As tired as he was, he wanted to enchant his elytra before he went to bed. He turned to go up the stairs when he noticed something strange. Instead of his reflection in the window, there was something in its place. At base, it looked exactly like the builder, but with some differences. It had white feathered wings on its back and a glowing halo over its head. But it also had small horns coming out of its head and a long tail with an arrow-like barb at the end. Grian turned to directly face it, and it turned as well. It looked like some sort of shoulder angel shoulder demon morph, but quite normal looking even with the mangled description. The red shirted hermit stared at the abnormality, wondering if his fatigue had caused it. Then, he remembered the mirror from earlier that day, which he had forgotten in his exhaustion.

The reflection moved.

He stumbled back in surprise and fear, but the reflection kept moving towards him. It walked up to the mirrored edge of the room and _stepped **through** the glass_. Grian managed to stand up and face the creature, but was unsure of what would happen next.

"Hello," said the creature, smiling strangely.

"Uh, what?" said the hermit, not expecting this of all things.

"Hello!" it repeated, then grinned, "You are now in possession of your very own sentient reflection!"

"My- my reflection?" Grian said, stumbling over his words.

"Yes!" the reflection said, "Now do you need me to repeat everything else I say?"

"Uh, no," he replied, "But, how- How did you get here?"

"Well," the reflection started, "When you found that magic mirror thing-a-mabob, you enacted the spell written on it, and now," the creature did a little spin on his heels as he said that, "I, your reflection, exist in reality as a metaphysical version of you!"

The builder was stunned, but beginning to grasp the situation.

"So I created you?" he spoke, "I didn't even mean to do that! I didn't know what it did!"

"So it was and accident?" his reflection said, face falling a bit, "Aw, well that's no fun. Ya shoulda' done it on purpose."

"But, um," Grian said, still confused, "I know you're my reflection but, what- _exactly_ are you?"

"What am I?" the reflection responded, perking up again, "Why I'm your reflection - as you said - your shadow, the voice inside your head that tells you what to do,"

"The voice inside my head? Is that why you look like a shoulder angel shoulder devil mix?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," the shadow replied. It fidgeted with it's wing and flicked it's tail round. Each wing was about one meter long, and looked to be more for decorative purposes than actual flying.

"So, now that I know what I did, is that all you do?" Grian asked, "Do you just walk around and exist?"

"No, actually," the creature said, "I have much more of a purpose, besides being able to walk around and offer companionship,"

"So what can you do?"

"I. Can turn into an _exact. Physical replica._ Of _you."_

"How do you do that?"

"Well, that requires some input from you. I'll teach you the spell, but I'll need you to repeat after me,"

Grian nodded, bidding the shadow continue.

"First," it smiled, "To make me become physical, you'll need to say _∷ᒷ⎓ꖎᒷᓵℸ_ ̣,"

"∷ᒷ⎓ꖎᒷᓵℸ ̣," the hermit repeated.

"Next, to turn me back to my regular form, you need to say _∷ᒷ⎓∷ᔑᓵℸ ̣,"_

 _"_ ∷ᒷ⎓∷ᔑᓵℸ ̣," said Grian, feeling the similarity of the strange words in his mouth.

"There you go!" the reflection said happily, "Now you can summon me into and out of reality at any point!"

"But why didn't you change then?"

"Well that's because you didn't have the meaning behind the words yet. Now they'll work whenever you say them. Want to try it out?"

The builders hand twinged at those words. He had managed to hide the cut from Scar and had forgotten about it after he bandaged it up, but the cut had not forgotten what happened.

"Er... not right now," he replied.

The creature sighed, then remembered another detail.

"OK, but whatever you do," it said, "Don't keep me physical for an extended period of time, unless you fancy the universe shattering like glass,"

Grian shivered at the thought, and then nodded.

"Got it. Any other details I should know?" he asked.

"Nope!" responded the shadow gleefully, "You just get to appreciate having another you around!"

The red clothed hermit laughed and then trotted up the stairs, his reflection following close behind him. He enjoyed having another companion, but part of him didn't like the way the last words were phrased.

"Another you"

He didn't like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey we at chapter two now! I decided to keep notes so I could better write this story, but I think I got more to fast than a regular person should. I don't know. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, cause I'm gonna keep writing till this is done! Just don't expect to have a new chapter everyday, i'm just feeling inspired right now (you probably get a few a week though).


	3. Good Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was a magnificent mirror,as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, By JK Rowling

It had been a few days since Grian's reflection first stepped out of his window, and he was still not used to it. The fact that the voice of guidance that used to be inside his head was very confusing. It was, strangely though, very helpful. His shadow could see things from an outside view and give him better advice then it could ever have when still inside his head. The builder walked into the storage room of his house and saw the reflection standing in a corner leaning against the wall. He noticed that it was softly singing something again, and though he had heard part of it many times before, the shadow had always stopped before he got close enough to hear the words. This time though, he heard a little bit of it before the creature turned to him.

"...↸𝙹∴ 𝙹⎓ ∷ᒷ⎓ꖎᒷᓵℸ ̣ ╎𝙹リ ᓵᔑꖎꖎᓭ, ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ∴𝙹∷↸ᓭ ᔑ ᒲᒷ∷ᒷ ∷ᒷ⎓∷ᔑ..."

"That's strange," Grian thought, "Some of those words sound familiar..."

"Hey there, G!" the creature said happily, "Ya need any help?"

Grian knew what it meant by "help". It wanted to be made physical, but the hermit wasn't ready for that yet. Scar's words still rang in his head,

"Trust me. If I know magic, and I **_do_** know magic, that relic will only bring bad things,"

He shivered slightly, and his cut stung at the memory. It was almost all the way healed, but the pain returned everytime that the reflection mentioned becoming physical.

"Not now," the red dressed hermit replied, "Just grabbing some more materials. You can come with me if you want though,"

The shadow shrugged and followed the builder. Grian had found that his reflection didn't seem to follow normal physics, and would kinda float around his shoulders like the shoulder angel/demon it looked like.

"So, what are we doing here?" the creature asked while hovering over him, putting a hand on his shoulder to keep balance.

"Well," Grian said, " Right now I'm working on my mansion, but I'm not quite sure how this part will go,"

The shadow started at the spot where the builder had gestured, and then started giving his point of view. The hermit smiled. He still wasn't sure whether he could trust the creature, but it didn't seem to be dangerous at all. It was just another him, and two heads are better than one, right. When the reflection was finished explaining, Grian started up towards the tough spot, the shadow close behind.

He continued to work on his mansion throughout the day, his reflection offering advice when he wasn't sure what to do next. When the sun started to set, the builder set off for home.

"I got lots done today," he said, "Thanks to you, I got even further than I would have if I was on my own!"

"You're very welcome!" the creature smiled, then stopped and said:

"You know, you'd be able to get even **_more_** done if you let me help you,"

Grian thought for a moment. His shadow's voice sounded strange, almost pleading. His cut still stung, but he ignored it. It had been very helpful so far, wouldn't it be even better if it were physical?

Grian grinned then said, "Maybe next time, but now, I'm tired. I'm going to eat something, then go to bed,"

The creature's face lit up when he said that, like a child who just got the gift they had been asking for. Grian laughed, and turned to head back home. It seemed that things would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I have an upload schedule planned out now. I started this just because, but I've kinda accepted that its just my life now. Its my life now. I'll be uploading every Tuesday and Friday, at whatever time I happen to, and will try to stay consistent. This should probably get you guys through the week with these bumps of entertainment. Anyway, I hope you have a great day and that you enjoy!


	4. The Race Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If that diamond ring turns to brass,  
> Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass,"  
> -Hush Little Baby

Grian hopped down from the portal in the shopping district, the reflection close behind. He was headed towards the bit of land that he had purchased for a shop with the supplies to make it. Upon arrival, he realized his slight error.

"Hmm," he spoke, "I seem to have over estimated the materials I'd need,"

"You think?" the double laughed, looking at the minuscule space that the hermit had reserved.

"I was planning on making a ship," the builder said, "But I don't have enough diamonds to make a dock to connect to it, let alone enough space!"

The shadow snickered while his master sighed and looked around.

"OK, here's the plan," he said, "We'll move the space over closer to the shore, and make a little raft thing there,"

" _We_?" the creature asked confused.

"Well, I did tell you that you would maybe be able to help me next time," Grian said nervously, still not sure if he was making the right decision.

Upon hearing this, the reflection began to squeal and hop up and down a bit. The hermit laughed and began breaking the boundary to the plot he set out.

After finding a good place to put the little shop and marking the boundary, the red clothed hermit spoke again.

"Well, this is definitely not enough space to make a boat,"

"Nope," the shadow replied, "I guess a raft will have to do,"

Grian smiled, ignoring the dwindling sting on his hand, and spoke the words his double had told him.

"∷ᒷ⎓ꖎᒷᓵℸ ̣!"

The creature seemed to glow for a moment, and then it's wings and horns disappeared. When the glowing stopped, what faced the builder surprised him a bit. He felt like he was looking in a mirror, except it wasn't reversed. It was as if a picture of him had come to life and was looking him in the face. The shadow also seemed a little surprised, but then grinned like a small child in excitement.

"Well?" it said happily, "Shall we get to work?"

He smiled and nodded, and then started getting to work. They placed the campfires over the water to make a raft shape, and then added barrels for stock and a little pole for a sail. When they were done, Grian turned the shadow back into his normal form, and though it was a little sad, joined the hermit in admiring the boat.

"Well, it's small," he said, "But it'll work for now!"

"Yep!," the double responded, "Now what do we do next?"

"Now we go and get the stock so we actually make profits," the builder spoke, but was then interrupted by a voice behind him calling his name.

"Hey! Grian!"

He turned around to see his friend Mumbo running towards him.

"Hi Mumbo, what's up?" the builder replied happily.

"I'm doing great, but, I was wondering about you,"

Grian looked at the redstoner confused, and the man continued.

"Over heard you talking to someone, but there was nobody there, so I got a bit worried,"

The builder realized that Mumbo had seen him talking to his reflection, and quickly made up a lie to hide the secret.

"Oh, sorry, I was just talking to myself. You know, planning out loud. Helps you think,"

The mustachioed man nodded, but was still slightly perplexed. He was _sure_ that Grian had been talking to someone else, he had been using words like "we" and "us", just as you would in a discussion with another person. He shrugged it off though, as his friend tended to be a bit spontaneous, and he wouldn't put it past him to do something random and strange like that.

"Well, OK, just checking in with you," he smiled at his buddy, "I got some work to do, so I'll see you later!"

The shadow spoke up as Mumbo flew off, saying:

"It seems I did forget something. You should be careful when talking to me around other people, so they don't think you're crazy"

"Couldn't you have said that earlier?" the hermit said, slightly frustrated.

"Well, it's not like I've become a metaphysical reflection before. It's my first time!"

"Anything else I should know?" he said with a sigh.

The shadow shook his head, "No, except for not letting anyone see us together when I'm physical. That just seems to be a given though,"

Grian nodded, and gestured for the double to follow him. He still had plenty of work to do, and he would need help from the reflection. His cut had stopped hurting, as did his worries. It seemed that he could trust the creature he had summoned, and he wasn't going to just let a friendly asset sit around.

* * *

Grian looked up at the town hall. Scar, BDubs, and he had been working on it all day and into the night. They had been planning on starting a mayoral campaign so that there would be someone in charge of the diamond pile in the middle of the district. The red shirted hermit had already planned on enrolling Mumbo in the race (without telling him, of course), and was fully focused on the build. The creature floated around him, pointing out places to do certain things and giving some tips. He would have liked to let his reflection help, but then he would have to explain to Scar and BDubs why there were two of him, and he wasn't prepared to do that. He finished the part of the wall he was working on, then glid down to the inside of the hall where Scar was shaping the diamonds into a throne shape.

"How's it going Scar?" the tired builder asked.

"It's going great!" the wizard responded with a yawn, "The throne is looking good, and the diamonds taste great!"

"They **_taste_** great?!" BDubs said as he walked in from finishing the roof, "What do you mean they **_taste_** great?"

"Well haven't you ever licked a diamond before?" Scar spoke, "They're quite delectable,"

"Scar! That's disgusting!" the builder said with a laugh, his shadow snickering behind him.

"Don't do that you sicko!" BDubs yelled, "You don't know where they've been!"

The hermits all laughed, then went their separate ways after leaving a note about the campaign. The were tired, and had a long day ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter done, I've been working on this for the past 3 hours. But now I'm finally done, and I can put it out for your enjoyment. I honestly have nothing else to say, I'm just tired and a little brain dead from this. Have fun, I guess.


	5. Progression and Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When will my reflection show,  
> Who I am inside,"  
> -Mulan

Grian and the reflection were working on upgrading the barge. It's stock had sold out quickly, so they were able to buy 3 more plots and expand it. When they finished, the shadow went to admire their work while Grian started restocking.

"Grian! You upgraded your shop I see!"

It took the double a moment to realize that the voice was talking to him, and he turned around. Walking up to him was the hermit Keralis, his wide eyes goggling and a smile on his face.

"Um, yeah, hi, we-, uh , I just finished expanding it," the creature said nervously. Its eyes flicked warily over to Grian, who was hiding behind the barrels he had been restocking. He gestured for him to come over, trying not to be seen.

"Well I was wondering if you had anymore gravel. You need lots to make concrete you know," Keralis said to the shadow.

"Uh, yes, uh, YEAH! I got some over here!" the creature said quickly. It ran over to the pile of barrels and jumped behind.

" _SAY THE THING! SAY THE THING!_ " it whispered loudly, a worried look in its eyes.

" _∷ᒷ⎓∷ᔑᓵℸ_ ̣," the red shirted hermit whispered. His reflection glowed for a second, then returned to its normal, winged form. Keralis walked over to behind the stack of barrels.

"You seem to be in a hurry. Is something up?" the wide eyed builder asked.

"No, sorry," Grian replied, "Just got a _little_ to excited, that's all,"

"That's fine," the other hermit laughed, "So do you have any gravel?"

"Yep!" Grian grinned, grabbing some of the stock, "Right here!"

The two made their exchange, and then Keralis walked away with his gravel and Grian with his diamonds.

"That was _too_ close," the shadow said, exhaling loudly.

"I think you handled it quite well, actually," the builder said while counting his newly earned money.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You deescalated it quickly and didn't raise any suspicion,"

The creature smiled widely. It loved being physical, and getting praise meant being in that form more.

"Actually, I've been wondering," the builder said, "We could get even _more_ done if you could go do things like pick up supplies and talk to other hermits,"

The double clenched his fists, trying not to let his overwhelming excitement show.

"And by that you mean..."

"Well, couldn't we split up and double our work out put!"

It took all the shadow had not to squeal and jump for joy. Though he could feel his eyes dancing, he tried to put up the impression of being calm.

"That sounds like an amazing idea!" it said with a grin.

Grian stifled a laugh, and just smiled at his reflection. It was pretending to not be excited, but the amount of euphoria shining out of its eyes was impossible to ignore.

"Well, now we should go spend some of our hard earned money and then go work on the base," he spoke.

They went off into the district, going from shop to shop to grab what they needed. There were posters everywhere, each one telling you to vote for a certain person. They were almost done when a shadow flew over them and landed in front.

"Hello, _Grian_ ," the redstoner said.

"Hey, Mumbo!" the builder replied happily, "Whats up?

" _Whats UP_?" the other hermit yelled, grabbing a poster off the wall and shoving it in his friends face, " _THIS_ is whats _UP_!"

"Mumbo for mayor. Yeah," Grian spoke, pushing the paper aside, "What about it?"

"What about it?!" Mumbo said, exasperated and flustered, "WHAT ABOUT IT?! Well-, I-, you-. UGH,"

The mustachioed man ran his hand through his hair. Grian could be frustrating sometimes, with his elaborate pranks.

"I didn't sign up for this! What did you do this for? Do you even have a plan?"

"The poster is the plan!" Grian laughed, "And I signed you up because its fun!"

"Then why didn't you just sign yourself up?"

"Do you really think _**I**_ should be on the throne?"

"No," Mumbo said, shaking his head, "No I do not,"

"Well that's why I signed you up!" Grian said, throwing his arms out, "Simple!"

"I guess that makes sense," Mumbo sighed, sitting down.

The builder walked over and patted his friend on the back.

"Don't you worry. I'll make us a headquarters, and we'll get together in a few days to start campaigning,"

" _Sigh_. OK, got it. See you in a few days then?"

"In a few days,"

The engineer flew off, and Grian and his shadow went towards the portal.

"Another one of your pranks, ey?" the creature said with a smirk.

"Yep!" the hermit snickered, "Now come on. We got work to do,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha I made a Disney reference SUE ME.  
> I recently made the realization that like half of my day dreams can be turned into fan fics. I wrote the ideas down, and I have six possible fan fics I could make. So yeah, you can probably expect those from me at some point.


	6. The Mask that Hides the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "And I have hands,  
> And I have feet,  
> I'll never die,  
> I am a freak"  
> -Eighth Wonder, By Lemon Demon

Grian walked into his hobbit hole with a yawn. He had had a long day, and he was ready to just flop down on his bed. The hermit walked up to his room and took off his elytra, leaning the wings up against the wall. He then turned off the light and plopped himself in bed. The builder was so tired that he fell asleep within minutes, but a few thoughts still went through his mind before he succumbed to exhaustion. Seeing his shadow over in the corner, he realized he had never seen it sleep before. It always just stood or sat around while the hermit drifted off into dreamland. He wondered why it always seemed to be so secretive, and if he should worry, but fell asleep before he could think any farther.

After seeing his master soundly asleep (and making sure of it with a few pokes, he was another Grian so the mischief carried over), the reflection quietly exited the room and went downstairs. It couldn't sleep. Not because it wasn't tired, it just wasn't physically possible for it to. The creature never got tired, or hungry, it just existed onward. It sighed and looked in the window. Without light shining through, it became a cold, dark mirror, in which you could easily see yourself. But the shadow saw nothing. Being only metaphysical, it didn't truly exist in reality. It didn't have a shadow or reflection, and even if it became physical, neither Grian nor it had either (him being the reflection and shadow, Grian's disappeared when it became physical).

It hated it.

The double went outside in a huff, almost slamming the door behind it. It walked out into the yard and just stood there, silently fuming. Though it couldn't feel most sensations, it could feel temperature. The cool air felt refreshing on its skin, and it calmed down. It took some deep breaths (that didn't really matter because it didn't even need to breathe), and stared up at the sky. The stars were softly twinkling overhead, and the moon let out a dim glow. The reflection just stood and thought. Its wings fluttered a bit in the breeze, and the shadow grabbed on to them so they wouldn't get in its face.

It instantly regretted that.

It quickly let go, but it was stuck on its mind. The wings and tail were a reminder of its falseness, of the fact that it was not really real. The anger started to rise again, and the shadow just couldn't stop it. It envied the hermits, the way that they lived and that it did not. The fact that to be happy i had to be physical, but it couldn't stay that way forever. It was just a copy of Grian, and it wanted to be anything but. Just a clone, just a mirror, just a tool to be used. That was all it seemed to be, all it was told it would be. It stopped for a moment to worry about someone seeing it, then remembered no one but Grian could see it in this form. Dang it, another bad thought.

The creature collapsed to the ground. Everything seemed hopeless. It was just a worthless shadow, never anything but. It was given life, but it couldn't even truly live. Even as it broke down, it let out gasps as if crying, but no tears came. Crying was another thing it wasn't capable of doing. The double picked itself up and went inside, not wanting to be surrounded by cold any longer.

The warmth of its master's house washed over it as it opened the door. The night was just another reminder of bad things, without anything to distract it from those thoughts. It curled up on the floor, leaning against the support in between the wall of chests. It pulled its wings over its face, blocking out the world around it. It stayed there, silently sobbing through the rest of the night.

When the shadow next looked up, the morning sunlight was streaming through the window. It stood up slowly, and stared out at the blue sky. Just it being day time was enough to keep the scary thoughts away, no matter how real and ever present they were. Out of the corner of his eye, it saw Grian coming down the stairs. The reflection turned and gave him a smile, closing his eyes in the process. It had quickly learned that its emotions were easy to read through its eyes, and it didn't want the hermit to see how it really felt. Looming behind the doubles eyes were anger, jealousy, and spite. It wanted to be human like its master, but knew it was impossible. It wished it could get away from him, but also knew that it needed the builder to be happy.

Grian grinned a good morning back at his shadow, but something worried him. It just seemed to give of an air of anger and despair. He turned to go and get some breakfast, a frown crossing his face as he turned away. He had never seen it like that before. It was usually happy and smiling, with a little more snarkyness than the hermit (OK, maybe more than a little). But today it seemed distant and looming.

And Grian had still never seen it sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a shorter chapter, but i wanted this to be just about the reflection, so it doesn't have the convos that make the chapters longer. Hopefully you enjoy it anyway. Writing this was a bit difficult because i had to use "it" so many times, but the reflection can't have a name for story purposes. I've just been calling it "R", so I guess that's its name now.  
> On other notes, I recommended a chapter name to an author I follow, and she used it. So yeah. That burst of euphoria was amazing.  
> We got plenty more to come, so I gotta get working. I promise more emotional chapters in the future (they are my specialty), and I hope you have a wonderful day!


	7. Robots and Some Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck

Grian stood at the balcony he had built and looked out at the sky. It had a perfect view of the sunset in the evening, but right now it was morning. He turned around to the meeting room of the mayoral HQ. It was on an island he had made off the shopping district, and was in the shape of Mumbo's mustache (given it being the _Mumbo_ for mayor campaign). The builder once again made sure he had set everything up for the meeting. Mumbo would be arriving soon, and he wanted everything to be perfect for the mayor to be. As soon as he had that thought, a shadow flew overhead and landed on the balcony.

"Well," the redstoner said, surprised, "This is impressive."

"The Mumbo for mayor campaign is important, after all," the red shirted hermit said with a smile, "So the HQ should be very grand."

“Grand-ish,” the other hermit replied with a laugh, “It’s a little room on a tiny island.”

“Hey,” Grian shrugged, “I worked with what I had.”

“OK then,” Mumbo said, sitting down, “So do we have an actual plan yet, or is the poster still all we got?”

“Still just the poster,” the builder said, sitting opposite the mayoral candidate.

“I honestly have no idea what a mayor should do,” the engineer nervously laughed, “Given that I was thrown into this. Do you know what a mayor should do?”

Grian turned to his left to see if his reflection had any opinion, but was greeted by an empty corner.

“ _Oh yeah_ ,” he remembered, “ _I sent it out to restock and buy materials_.”

“Nope, no idea, Mumbo.”

“Well, then we need another idea.”

“Yes we do. You got any?”

“Well,” Mumbo said, his face furrowing in thought, “Since neither of us know anything about being mayor, what if, we maybe...”

“Maybe what?” Grian said excitedly.

“...Maybe we should make a robot to **_tell_** us what to do,” the redstoner finished.

“Interesting idea,” the hermit responded, “So instead of us doing the planning, we have the robot do it for us.”

“Exactly!” Mumbo said, gesturing to nothing in particular, “You can build the body, and I’ll do the programming.”

“Yeah I'm not exactly the best with coding,” Grian laughed.

“So, let’s build a platform in the back, and we’ll put the robot there.”

“Blocking my sunset?!”

“Well where else are we supposed to put it?”

“Ha, just joking, let’s get to work.”

The two friends began setting up a platform over the ocean. When they finished, the builder started making the robot’s body while the engineer went to get his redstone supplies. Grian made the bot’s head a TV, then added his hair and a mustache. Mumbo came back and began working on the inside machinery. They continued work on it, and by the time they were finished the sun was setting.

“Wow,” the mayoral candidate said, finishing up the last few bits, “The sunset really is amazing.”

“Now I kind of wish I hadn’t been joking earlier,” the red clothed hermit replied, “It _does_ block the sunset.”

“Well,” the redstoner started, hopping down from the shoulder he had been sitting on, “I think we’re done!”

The two stepped back to admire their work. The robot was large, it had a giant TV screen head, two arms coming off the body with the control panel on it, and an antenna on top of the head with a red bobble on it.

“What should we name it?” Grian asked.

“Name it? I don’t know,” Mumbo replied, “Maybe something to do with both of our names, you know, since it has both of our features?”

“Gr for Grian maybe, then umbo, combined with robot...” the builder mumbled, then continued.

“How about Grumbot?”

“That’s perfect! He shall hence forth be named Grumbot!” the engineer said excitedly, “Let’s give him a test run.”

The mayor to be quickly scrawled out on a piece of paper, “Hello Grumbot”, and then put it in the machine with an activation diamond.

“HELLO,” the bot replied.

“It works! It works!” Grian yelled happily, jumping up and down, “Let me ask a question now! Grumbot, what is the meaning of life?”

“Uh, do you think that’s to much for him?” Mumbo said nervously.

“Well he _is_ an AI,”

“THE MEANING OF LIFE IS MUMBO FOR MAYOR.”

“He answered,” the builder smiled.

“OK then,” the engineer laughed, “So Grumbot, what’s the plan?”

The machine thought for a second, then responded with an angry look on his face.

“GRUMBOT NEEDS BUDGET.”

“He needs more diamonds!? Mumbo what have you made?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we need to get him budget now. Makes sense, getting some money to spend on getting supporters.”

Grian laughed, and then stopped. He had had a growing headache, and it just spiked a bit. He felt as if an ice pick was lightly tapping onto the glass that was his mind, and it had just begun to crack.

“ _My double was out all day_ ,” he thought, “ _This must be the consequence for leaving it out for a long time_.”

“Well, we got a plan now, so let’s go enact it,” the hermit spoke, “I got some other things to do first though. See you later, mayor to be?”

“See you later,” the candidate laughed.

The builder flew off towards the shopping district to look for the shadow. It was just finishing up its work, and was singing to itself on the way back to the barge.

“...𝙹リᒷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ℸ ̣ ᔑꖌᒷ ||𝙹⚍∷ !¡ꖎᔑᓵᒷ, ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ʖꖎ𝙹𝙹↸ 𝙹リ ⊣ᒷᒲ ╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑᓭ ||𝙹⚍∷ ⎓ᔑᓵᒷ. ꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ ⍊𝙹╎ᓵᒷ...”

“Hi Grian!” a voice said, and it turned to see FalseSymmetry walking by (who it knew because Grian had made sure it knew all the hermits for when it had to talk to them).

“What you singing there?” she continued.

“Oh, nothing in particular,” it brushed her off.

“Well it sounded like something,” she persisted, changing her pace to walk alongside the creature.

The double bit its tongue. Why did it always seem that people _had_ to latch on to the one strange thing that it happened to do? Couldn’t they just have a normal conversation? Treat it like a normal person?

“It’s just something I heard before,” it replied.

“Do you know what it is then?” False asked, “It sounded really cool.”

“No, I don’t,” it said bitterly, starting to get annoyed, “It’s just something I heard somewhere before, OK?”

“OK, I get it,” she said apologetically, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to push you.”

As they continued on, the reflection spotted its master waiting at the barge. It realized that it needed to return, but couldn’t let its walking companion see.

“Hey, I honestly have quite a bit of stuff to do,” it said, “And it’s getting late. You should probably go get some of your stuff done, see you later?”

“Uh, see you later, I guess,” False responded, giving the shadow a weird look as it walked to the store Grian had made.

After it was sure that the other hermit had went away, the shadow put the stuff it had gathered down and called out to its master.

“I think I got everything we need.”

“Great!” Grian said, coming out from behind a stack of barrels, “Uh, what was that about? You were acting kind of bitter around False. Did you see that look she gave you?”

The creature gulped. It _had_ acted rather strange, hadn’t it. Its master didn’t act that way, and it didn’t want to draw suspicion to itself.

“I, uh, broke under pressure a bit,” it lied, not wanting the hermit to know about the spite and jealousy it held for _actual_ people, “She over heard me singing, and I didn’t know how you would know a song in galactic, so...”

“Oh, OK, just try to act more natural next time, got it?” the builder responded, but secretly thought, “ _So that song’s in galactic then? Some of its words sound familiar, I wonder if it’s because they sound like the spell. Could the spell be in galactic too_?”

“Here’s the diamonds we have left,” the double continued, handing the crystalline blue gems over to the hermit, “And here’s the supplies I got.”

Grian took them, thanking his reflection, then said, “I see what you mean about you being physical for too long. My head is really starting to hurt. I’m going to turn you back to normal, OK?”

Grian spoke the spell words, the creature reverting back to its usual, winged form. He grabbed the supplies and began marking out the next barge upgrade. Once again, Scar’s words were ringing in his head. His shadow was acting weird again, and he wasn’t sure why. He knew that he should tell someone about the mirror and his reflection in case something went wrong, but he wasn’t sure who. He could tell Scar, who already knew about the mirror, but then he might be told off for doing something so dangerous. Mumbo would be a good option, being one of his closest friends and very trustworthy. He could tell Iskall, another close friend, or Xisuma, the admin of the server, who might be able to tell him more about the clone. He could even tell Grumbot, who would be able to keep the secret and maybe come to a logical conclusion about what to do.

Whatever he did, it wouldn’t be today, because he had work to do, and then sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other day I got bored. What did I do? Well I wrote a song about R. Yep. Just wrote a whole entire song. That's why I'm not allowed to get bored. I do stuff like that. On the plus side, it lets me write cool stuff, but I also make a lot of random crap. Maybe I'll show the lyrics sometime, but they have some spoilers so not yet <3.  
> I would have posted this yesterday, but I waited until late, and given the time spent on it today, I would have gotten no sleep. Which I need because I need to start waking up at like 6 instead of 7:30. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I put a lot into it, and I’ll talk to you later!


	8. Where Spite Meets Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I only ever want to have fun,  
> But now they’re telling me my days here are done”  
> -Cabinet Man, By Lemon Demon

The barge’s new windows glinted beautifully in the daylight, the dark oak framework contrasting perfectly. Grian sat on the rock pillar in the center, admiring his work. The reflection sat beside him, turned away and staring off into space. It had hardly talked to him all day, and had been hyper focused on its work ever since the False incident. 

“Well, what do you think?” the builder asked.

“Huh?” the shadow jumped, startled out of its daze.

“What do you think about the barge upgrade?” he continued, “Got any opinions?”

“Uh, no, not really. It looks pretty good,” it replied, but was interrupted by the grumbling of its stomach.

“Woah, what was that?” Grian laughed, “You must be hungry, huh?”

“Is that what that is?” the double inquired, turning towards its master, “It was doing that all day the other day, when, uh, I was talking with False. My mouth was dry too.”

“That’s not normal, to ignore it that way,” the hermit said, reaching into his bag and grabbing a golden carrot, “Here, eat this.”

The creature took the carrot tentatively, sniffed it, then put it in its mouth and bit down. Its eyes lit up as it chewed, and tears started to well up.

“Hey, are you alright?” Grian asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” his reflection sniffed, wiping the tears off its face, “I-I’ve just never eaten anything before, you know?”

The shadow stopped and looked at the tears on its hand, surprised. It curled its knees up to its chest and murmured:

“I-, I’ve never cried before either. Th-this is all really new to me. You know, being a r-reflection and all.”

“Yep, these are the ups and downs of life,” the red dressed hermit smiled, “Joy and sadness, repeated over time. I guess people just don’t notice it, unless it’s more extreme.”

“I hope I get to do this more,” the double said quietly, “I-, I really like it, I think,”

“Actually, I need to go work on the mansion,” the hermit said, hopping down onto the barge floor, “Would you like to stay and get some other work done?”

The creature smiled and jumped down next to its master.

“Sure, I’d be _extremely_ happy to!” it said with a smile, “Just let me make sure my eyes aren’t too red from crying.”

"Here, have more of these," the builder spoke, handing the clone some more food, "I'll meet you later this afternoon, OK?"

"Got it!" the reflection replied, and happily began nomming down on the carrots.

Grian took of into the sky with his elytra, making sure that no one saw him slip into the portal so they wouldn't get confused at seeing him in two places. He flew through the nether sky, following the torch trail on the bedrock roof back to his portal. The builder walked through and emerged onto the jungle canopy. Gliding down to his base, he started to again go over the plans in his head. The hermit was making a large storage system, so he could be organized instead of having a bunch of chest monsters everywhere. It had been started earlier, but hadn’t been finished yet. The red clothed hermit gathered supplies for the sorter, and began to build.

Given the repetitive task, the builder’s mind began to wander. He worried about his double, and the strange attitude it had been showing. He hadn’t told anyone about the creature, and was honestly scared to do so. He wasn’t sure why he was, but it probably had something to do with the darkness he would sometimes see in the back of the shadow’s eyes.

“ _Scar was right_ ,” he thought, “ _That relic did bring bad things, but I’m not sure how bad they are, or even what they are_.”

Grian sighed, and continued building. He wasn’t sure what to do. The reflection was acting strange enough to cause some concern, but it couldn’t be that bad, right? Just earlier it had happily relished its existing and volunteered to again help him with his work. But still, the few moments where it acted unusually lingered in the back of his mind with a bad taste. Someone needed to be told, but he still worried on it.

“ _Tomorrow, I’ll think on it tomorrow_ ,” he thought, knowing that he still wouldn’t.

Before he knew it, the storage was finished. Grian smiled at the finished project, then turned to go back to the shopping district. After slipping back through the portal, he spotted the double talking to Iskall and Stress. He flew carefully down - so as not to be seen - and landed behind the barge so as to listen in on the conversation.

“-ayoral campaign going?” Stress finished.

“I told you, it’s going fine,” the creature replied, slightly irked.

“Well you haven’t really said anything about it,” Iskall laughed, “You got any plans?”

“It’s, uh, well,” it stammered, “We wouldn’t want to spill our secrets, would we?”

“I guess you wouldn’t,” Stress smiled, but then her face changed to a worried expression.

“Are you doing alright, by the way? You’ve been acting a bit strange lately.”

“Yeah,” Iskall continued, “Are you doing OK?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” the reflection said, getting more frustrated.

“Really?” Stress inquired gently, “Cause every time someone asks you, you brush it off, just lik-”

“MAYBE I’M NOT FINE THEN,” the shadow snapped, yelling loudly, “MAYBE I’M NOT FINE. MAYBE I’M NOT DOING ALRIGHT.”

“Hey, hey, s-sorry,” Iskall said, holding his hands up apologetically, “We didn’t mean to push you-”

“YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO PUSH ME?! YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO PUSH ME, HUH,” it continued to shout, “YOU SAY THAT, BUT MAYBE I WOULD BE FINE IF YOU TREATED ME LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. INSTEAD OF PICKING OUT EVERY SINGLE THING THAT I DO. IS IT SO IMPOSSIBLE TO TREAT ME NORMALLY?”

“Jeez Grian, we’re sorry, alright?” Stress sternly retorted, “We were just checking in on you.”

The double went to snap back, but noticed its master angrily hissing at it from behind the barge.

“I got to go, just, ease off, OK?” it frustratedly sighed, and sulked off towards Grian, ignoring the calls from behind it.

“ _WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!_ ” the hermit harshly whispered, holding back his rage so that no one would over hear.

"What do you _think_ it was," the creature grumbled, "Are you _deaf_?"

" _You can't just act that way!_ " Grian continued, " _For one, I don't act like that, and two, you're being a huge JERK!_ "

"Well they were the ones who pushed me to that!" it pointed out spitefully, "They shouldn't have been-"

" _THEY WERE JUST CHECKING IN ON ME!_ " he interrupted, " _The ONLY reason you were allowed to do this is because you could act NORMAL, but I see you CAN'T anymore._ "

"I DIDN'T **DO** ANYTHING!" the double shouted back, "I was just-"

"Shut up," the red shirted hermit snapped back, "Shut up shut UP SHUT UP!"

The reflection stopped short and stared at its master, pursing its lips to stop itself from yelling.

"Since you can't deal with something this simple, you're not allowed to do this anymore," Grian said quietly, at the end of his rope, " _∷ᒷ⎓∷ᔑᓵℸ ̣_."

As the shadow returned to its normal form, a look of terror, anger, and despair crossed it face. It tried to say something, but no words could get past its stuttering lips. Grian turned away, ignoring the creatures face, which looked close to tears. He walked off, heading back towards the portal. Before he left though, he noticed Stress and Iskall chatting nearby.

"Uh, hey guys," he said, walking up to the two of them.

"Hey Grian!" Iskall replied, slightly confused, "What was, uh, with you earlier?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I came over about," the builder continued sheepishly, "I'm sorry about how I acted, I wasn't really in the best state of mind."

"It's OK, G," Stress smiled, "We just wanted to know if you were doing alright, we didn't mean to prod you like that."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for how I acted," he lied, "I just, have been in a bit of a rough patch, I guess."

"Apology accepted, just take care of yourself, got it G-man?" Iskall replied, assuring his friend.

"Yeah, get some good sleep, eat good food, take a break if you need," Stress said, "We're there for you if you need, OK?"

“Don’t worry, I will,” Grian smiled and began to walk off towards the portal, “Thanks guys!”

He once again went through the portal, the reflection following behind with a scornful look. They were there for him if he needed. He needed to tell them about his reflection and the mirror. Something held him back though. The turmoil that seemed to be brewing behind his double made him feel guilty about saying anything, but the same turmoil was putting him in danger.

“ _If anything happens again,_ ” he thought to himself, swearing that he would keep the promise, “ _I **will**_ _tell someone. I **will**_.”

The shadow followed behind, all the spite inside of it bubbling up, its despair the only thing keeping it from exploding like a volcano. Had it been physical, angry tears would have been streaming down its face.

It was fed up with being a simple apparition.

It just wanted to be human.

To be treated like a person.

To just be...

Normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry bout the late post, it’s been a weird week for me. I’ll try to get back on it tomorrow.  
> This chapter started out pretty wholesome, but even then it had tension, so it was doomed to end on a sour note. Things are starting to pick up speed, and I’m excited to get to those parts.  
> If you have any thoughts, questions, theories, or anything, feel free to leave a comment! It boosts my self esteem a bit, and I get to obsess over my stories. Even if it’s not story related, if you’re just having a bad day and need some cheering up, I’m always happy to help <3.


	9. A Blank Face, What Lurks Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the only ways to detect a vampire is the fact that it has no reflection and can’t be seen in mirrors

The double sulked in a corner, staring at the builder as he worked on his mansion. It had refused to talk to him, except when it was asked a question, which it answered angrily and shortly. Spite burned in the back of its soul, and it still hadn't gotten over it.

"Still don't want to put in any thoughts?" Grian asked, turning slightly to face the creature.

"If my opinion really matters that much to you, maybe you should have listened _earlier_ ," it spat, not letting its master make eye contact.

The builder sighed and turned back to his work. He felt he should give some form of punishment, but wondered if the one he used was too harsh. It had reacted so strongly, and he felt guilty about it. After all, the reflection _was_ another him, and it reminded him of being reprimanded as a child a bit too much for him to be comfortable.

" _It's like I have to parent a child, but the child is ME_ ," the hermit pondered.

He smiled at the thought. Just a few days ago, he had gotten together with Mumbo and was referred to as "dad" by Grumbot. It had surprised the both, but the machine said it with such happiness that they couldn't turn the robot down.

The shadow eyed the hermit smiling regretfully. It wanted to exist, but was barred from doing so. And still even then, that physicality was only temporary. Its anger still simmered, boiling madly behind the dull face it put on. Suddenly, it was like a bubble popped. As if all the emotions it had held back finally burst the barricade, just for a small fountain to stream out. An idea crossed its mind, and it smiled. The smile was a very, _very_ strange grin.

"Have you noticed that your shadow and reflection disappear when i'm physical?" it asked, attempting to start some small talk.

Grian turned around to look at the double, who was still staring at a wall.

"No, I haven't. Is that important?"

"Not, really," it continued, "People might notice it, yes, but as long as you're careful, they won't notice."

"Hmm, that's strange," the red clothed hermit said, trying to continue the conversation to tone down his guilt, "Do you know why?"

"I think it's because I represent both of them," the reflection replied, adjusting its position so it slightly faced its master, "When I become physical, I can't be there to make, or I guess, _be_ those for you."

"That does make sense," he pondered, then asked, "Is that why I don't have that guiding voice thing inside my head anymore?"

The creature looked at him confused so the builder continued.

"After I summoned you, it hasn't said anything anymore. You've mostly been the one giving me advice."

"I guess it's because I'm metaphysical, and can do it in person. I'm still doing it, just actually telling you instead of gut feelings."

Grian smiled at the shadow, who couldn't help but smile back.

" _Keep it fake,_ " it thought, " _Keep it shallow._ "

It knew what it had to do, but doing it would be the hard part. It couldn't show affection, that would only make it harder. Focus on the spite. Focus on the anger, the despair. It must cloud your vision, so that compassion can not get through.

"I, I'm sorry for how I acted the other day," it lied through its teeth. The effort it took to make it sound real and apologetic was more than the reflection thought, but it pushed through.

"Yeah," the hermit sheepishly laughed, "I didn't punish you without reason, but..."

He cut off. Part of him hurt. He wasn't sure what, but it did. There was also something on the tip of his tongue. Something important. It tried to dim the guilt down to nothing, but it couldn't win and was pushed off. Grian sighed. He had made a promise to himself, and he was intent on keeping it, but nothing had happened yet. The happy faces the creature had shown flashed through his mind, and pushed him deeper into thought.

" _It said it itself, it is another me_ ," he questioned, " _So maybe it's also some representation of internal demons,_ "

Chills ran down his spine. He did **not** want to meet his internal demons.

" _It could still be a learning_ _opportunity_ ," the red dressed hermit pondered, reasoning with himself, " _A way to get over them. But then, why would an ancient relic be used for that? Wouldn't that be a waste of magic? I don't know, magic is just plain confusing anyway._ "

"Um, is there any way I could help, and um, make it up to you?" the reflection asked, tearing the builder away from his thoughts.

"Well, do you have any ideas of what I should put here next?" he responded with a grin, "I'm fresh out of them."

It gave a faux smile and began giving tidbits of advice, things were working as planned. It would get what it wanted. All there was left to do was gain its masters trust.

" _And at this point,_ " it thought, " _Even THAT might be easy,_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my friends and I were on vc and were writing our fan fictions together. And then we started talking about a cursed inside joke we have. I have never laughed so hard before and my face hurts from smiling. We've been going on for over an hour, and I'm slowly dying.  
> On a side note, we're finally getting to the very exciting part. I've been waiting to get here for a while, and have multiple scenes already planned out. We're a little less then half way through, I'd say, and things are only picking up speed. You might have noticed, or not, but there are a few little things I slipped in. Guess what they are.


	10. A Trust is Broken, and Heart Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Mirror, mirror could not be clearer,  
> Love is a waste of time.”  
> -Love Doesn’t Stand a Chance, By Lana Parrilla

The reflection worked diligently, helping the builder at every point it could. It got so extreme, that Grian had to tell it to shut up multiple times so he could focus. It got quiet immediately, which confused the hermit. Before, if he had said that, the shadow would have responded with a snide comment about “just trying to help”, but this time it just stopped.

“ _It’s probably trying to gain back my trust_ ,” the red shirted hermit sighed to himself.

He understood the reasoning, but it worried him. Ever since the other day, he had felt a pain somewhere, and though he still couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. It wasn’t an ache, or a mental pain, but a physical one, a dimmed down sharpness as if from an old wound. Grian could ignore it for the most part, but it grew slightly whenever his double did something abnormal, only to fade away before he could find the source. Not only that, but in those moments of strange behavior, a low mumbled sound played in his head, the words inaudible and the tone unrecognizable.

“ _Some sort of magic tuning it out, I bet,_ ” he thought. Before, such an idea would have been ridiculous, but now it was a very reasonable possibility.

“What do you know about magic?” the builder asked, thinking he might be able to get some answers from the creature without raising too much suspicion from it.

It looked at him bewildered, as if it had just been asked what color the sky was in a serious manner.

“And how would I know that?” it replied, confused that its master would ask such a question.

“Well, you’re a magical being, so I thought you might know _something_ about it,” Grian continued.

The reflection shook its head.

“I might be magic, but beside the stuff behind my existence, I only know as much as you.”

“So since you told me all the spells and stuff, we’re in the same boat knowledge wise,”

The shadow gave a half acknowledging shrug, trying to hide a guilty frown. It had told Grian _most_ of the spell, but not _all_ of it. It hadn’t told him about what to do if he wanted to return his reflection to normal, because it had wanted to stay metaphysical. Now it was too late for that, and though it knew that its master wasn’t the type to turn it back permanently, it still worried that he would if it told him, after the scene it made. It shook the guilt off. It wouldn’t show any sort of attachment. If it did that, the creature could pretend that the feelings disappeared, that they went away. Then, maybe they actually would when it was done with its plan.

“Need anymore tips or anything?” it asked, pushing the thought out of its mind to get back on topic.

“Look, I know you’re trying to gain my trust back,” Grian responded, an irritated look coming over his face, “But all you’re doing is making me feel guilty.”

The reflection flushed red. It hadn’t realized how obvious it had been. But in retrospect, it had been rushing it. The hermit turned to face it.

“I know you want to be physical again, and as soon as possible,” he said, “But this isn’t about how useful you are. You acted like a jerk, and that’s why you’re not allowed to change form anymore. You need to act more politely.”

The creature could feel anger rising up in itself but he held it down.

“I know, but, I just don’t want to be treated like _you_. I’m not even really _you_ anymore. I act a little differently, and then they just bother me with worries!”

“Well would you like me to tell someone? Then you could have someone treat you normally, like you want.”

The shadow had a moment of panic. Telling someone else about the mirror would ruin its plan.

“I, I’m not sure I would want to tell someone,” it nervously spoke. The hermit sighed thankfully.

“Neither do I, actually,” he said, “Messing with that relic mirror could have been extremely dangerous, and I don’t really want to deal with the backlash of people pointing out my mistake. I know it was an idiotic thing to do, but how could I not, as an avid chaos supporter, not investigate a bit?”

“ _I wouldn’t just mark off the relic as not being dangerous yet,_ ” the double thought, “ _I may not know magic very well, but I do know that it is mysterious, and has many,_ ** _many_** _secrets..._ ”

“Well, I guess I have to give you some credit,” the builder sighed, “I let my guilt get to me a bit. You certainly _were_ a help with my work, I guess you’re just not ready for people yet. C’mon, ∷ᒷ⎓ꖎᒷᓵℸ ̣.”

The shadow’s eyes lit up. It was even easier than he thought. The creature followed the hermit and began to work beside him.

“ _Don’t rush it_ ,” it thought, complying with the small talk its master made, “ _Wait a bit, or it will be to sudden._ ”

After what was only a little over five minutes, but what seemed like ages, the reflection spoke, faking a surprised sound in its voice.

“Oh yeah, the other day I saw something weird in the window back at the starter base.”

Grian stopped working and looked at his double. He hadn’t been there much, since he had almost completely moved into the mansion, so it was entirely possible that he hadn’t noticed it.

“You mean the one you walked out of?”

“Yeah, that one. Do you think the magic could have done something to it?”

“I don’t know, can you show me?”

The creature nodded and headed out of the mansion and down the hill towards the hobbit hole. Grian followed, and the pain flared up again, and the mumbling voice got louder. It very slowly grew as they walked down the hill, worrying the hermit. Could it have something to do with the window, or was it the reflection? He couldn’t tell, but the closer they got to the base, the more the pain grew and the louder the voice. His heart began to beat louder and louder, faster and faster. The builder tried to locate the source of the pain, but still couldn’t find it. The shadow opened the door to the building, and Grian forced the pain out of his mind. He would tell someone. It had gotten too bad. He would leave the double to work and go tell Scar. The wizard was closest and knew the most about magic.

And if the shadow was right about the window, he would need him even more.

The two walked in, and the reflection gestured towards the window, stepping back for Grian to look.

“It looks normal to me,” the builder said, inspecting the pane of glass, “Could it be something that only you can-”

He suddenly knew exactly where the pain was coming from.

It was from his hand, where he had gotten the cut from that day in the end.

He felt a shove from behind him.

He fell forward, _through_ the glass.

Grian stood up, and found himself in a room exactly like the one he had been in before, but on the other side of the glass was the shadow, grinning evilly back at him. He went to walk back, but found a panel of glass between them.

“What did you **_DO_**!” the hermit yelled banging on the window.

“Simple!” the doppelgänger laughed, “I was fed up with having you be in charge of when I could be physical, so I took your place! Now I can do _whatever I want_.”

“ _Let me back_ ,” Grian threatened, an adrenaline fueled fury filling his mind.

“Oh, _you’re not in charge of that anymore_ ,” the creature smirked, and began to walk away, “Anyway, _I, Grian_ , have some work to do. I hope you like the dark, because you’re gonna have to get used to it.”

Before the red dressed hermit could say anything else, the double exited the base, and without anything to reflect off of, he was left in total darkness. He sat down on the floor, exasperated, exhausted, and terrified.

“If only I had listened!” he cried.

He could now hear what the muffled voice was saying, clear as day.

The words were Scar’s.

“A relic like that will only bring bad things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally got to the exciting part! I've been waiting to do this for a while, and I'm proud with how it came out (even though I wrote it late at night). Things are getting spicy here, and it just keeps going on from here!  
> On a side note, this chapter marks over 10k words! 10k is a novel, so I have written a novels worth in this fan fic. Which is exciting, because I wrote around 2000 words in the last book I wrote. In 8 chapters. The book is ridiculous.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and leave feedback if you can!


	11. Problems Arise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Something is not right,  
> Something is quite wrong,  
> Something is not right,  
> And so I sing this song"  
> -Something Is Not Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another slight blood warning. Still not much, but be wary.

The doppelgänger glid awkwardly over the shopping district. He had only had a day of elytra practice, so he was still shaky. Thankfully, he had some memories of flying when he was still a part of Grian, so he hadn't started completely from scratch. The reflection was headed over to the Mumbo for mayor HQ so that they could plan their next move. He grinned to himself, remembering how nervous he had been when Mumbo had first messaged him about it. The creature had practice with talking to people, but given the circumstances, even a typed out message gave him anxiety.

He shook off the feeling. Everything was going to be alright now, his deepest desires were in reach. Yet still, the past was always watching from behind. The shadow had spent the previous day working in the barge, trying to gain a sense of normalcy afterwards the events that had happened two days ago. Occasionally people came in to buy stuff and said hi. The doppel generally avoid them, but eventually got back into the swing of things. But the one thing he constantly avoided was glass. There was hardly any back at the mansion, and he didn’t need to go to the hobbit hole either, so that was clear. The barge, however, was almost completely made of glass, and there was plenty more throughout the area. Thankfully, he could fly out the barge roof and avoid going near enough to a reflective surface to hear the builder.

“ _That’s not a good thought process to have_ ,” the double reminded himself, “ _I **am** Grian now, and he’s **my** reflection. I should act as such._”

The creature looked down and saw Mumbo waving at him from the platform and the mayoral bot smiling at him. He swooped carefully down, pulled up, and stuck the landing. He let out a cheer hello, excited in his new skills. After all, he _was_ Grian now, and Grian was _GREAT_ at elytra flying.

“Hey Grian, you seem chipper today!” Mumbo laughed.

The reflection nodded, “Yep, things have been going well lately!”

“Well hopefully that good energy will carry over to campaign planning,” the redstoner continued, “Cause we still have no idea what to do.”

The creature smiled. “Well, what does our robot friend here think?”

“Let’s see,” Mumbo said, putting a diamond into the machine’s system, “So we gathered the budget, what do we do now Grumbot?”

“ _Grumbot, that’s its name. I’ll take note of that_ ,” the doppelgänger thought, smiling as the bot started whirring to come up with an answer. He didn’t know much about the campaign, only what Grian had told him. He knew that the robot’s name was something, but couldn’t quite remember. All the times before, he had been out doing other stuff, so he had no clue about what to do. He just knew that: 1– the poster was the plan, 2– the robot would tell them what they needed to do, and 3– that they had given it a budget for the campaign. He smirked, glad that he had _his_ reflection get the budget for him.

"NEXT IN THE PLAN IS TO MAKE A SHOP," Grumbot spoke, "THE SHOP CAN ADVERTISE THE CAMPAIGN."

"Ah, that's a good idea!" the engineer said, "We can sell, well, I don't know what yet, and get votes!"

The reflection nodded excitedly. "Yeah, we can get you votes with Mumbo merch!"

"Mumbo merch?" the mayoral candidate laughed, "What would that be?"

"Well," the double scratched his head, "Maybe a T-shirt, or like, your mustache or something."

"Or the songs that Grum wrote!" Mumbo clapped his hands.

"What songs?" the creature asked.

The second the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Both the redstoner and the robot looked at him confused.

"DON'T YOU REMEMBER? THE SONG I MADE, I GAVE YOU THE DISK LAST TIME," Grumbot replied, a worried look on his face.

"O-oh yeah! Th-, the song, I remember now," the shadow lied, panicking, "Sorry, it must have, uh, slipped my mind."

Mumbo was confused. Grian had laughed so hard at the music when they had played it. Besides, it wasn't a tune you could easily forget in a few days.

The reflection pushed forward, brushing off the incident. "That sounds like a good idea, what will we, uh, do with the shop?"

"I don't know," the engineer responded, still confused at 'Grian's' actions, and turned to the machine. "What do you think, Grumbot?"

The robot thought for a moment, then smiled. "COULD I HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Mumbo exclaimed, "What do you think Grian?"

"That sounds great!" the creature replied, breathing a sigh of relief that he didn't already blow his cover. "I'll go get supplies to start, how bout you go pick out a spot?"

The mayoral candidate nodded. "Sure! Hey Grum, can I have those diamonds?"

Grumbot smiled happily and handed the shining crystal pile to the redstoner. "GOOD LUCK DADS!"

"Dads-?" the creature started, but then caught himself, "I mean, thanks!"

He flew off before either could confront him. The two looked at each other, worried.

"IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH DAD?" Grum asked, "WHY IS HE ACTING WEIRD?"

"I don't know..." Mumbo responded, scratching his head, "He's been acting really strange lately..."

"HE WAS ACTING NORMAL LAST TIME," Grumbot pondered, "WHY IS HE ACTING DIFFERENT NOW?"

The engineer ran his hand through his hair. Grian had acted weirdly before, and even more lately. But most of the time, it just resulted in some sort of prank, or was simple enough to brush off. But this time, it was much stranger.

"... SHOULD WE INVESTIGATE?" the robot asked, unsure of what to do.

"That might actually be a good idea," Mumbo replied, "This has been going on for a while, and it just got worse, seemingly. We _should_ probably check what's going on."

"WELL, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GO GET SOME LAND AND CHECK UP ON DAD," the machine smiled.

The redstoner grinned in reply and put the gem blocks in his inventory, then rocketed off into the sky to find a plot.

The reflection excitedly flew into the barge to grab the supplies he had left there. Gray concrete, black concrete, maybe some blue terracotta for the antenna, and sea lanterns.

" _Hmm, I don't have any sea_ _lanterns_ ," he thought, " _I'll have to buy some. Impulse sells them, doesn't he?_ "

The shadow ran out the entrance to the shop, but was interrupted by a voice.

"Hello, _GRIAN."_

He turned to see the actual builder staring at him from the glass. In his rush, he forgot that the exit to the barge was a glass arch, which meant that he cast a reflection.

“You’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you,” the hermit continued, shooting daggers at the creature.

The creature gave a strange grin. "Why should I pay attention to something as insignificant as a reflection?"

Grian just continued to stare. "Well, then it seems that _I_ have been the bigger person here, I even let you _exist_."

The doppel scowled. Grian was at least partially right, and he knew it.

"Well here's the thing," the double spat out, " _I_. Don't _NEED_. To pay _ANY_ attention to you. At _ALL_."

"You don't need to, yes," the builder retorted, "But there's a difference between _avoiding_ and _ignoring_. You, have been avoiding me, and therefor, your problems."

The hermit was, once again, right. The shadow had been avoiding him. He didn't want to have to face the person who he ruined the life of. In all honesty, he was scared to.

Grian seemed to sense the fear, and continued. "You're scared to even look at me, even though I can't do anything to you. I'm forever trapped behind glass. I've tried to wave for help, but they look right past me. They can't see me, they only see a normal reflection. I can't _DO_ anything to you, and you're _SCARED_."

" _SHUT **UP**_!" the creature yelled. The builder quieted down.

"Maybe I'm scared of you. But you know what? It doesn't matter. _I'm_ the one in control here. Maybe I _am_ avoiding you. But when I avoid you, it leaves you in the dark. It leaves you alone. It leaves you cold and scared. While _I_ am here in _complete_ control, having the _time_ of my _life_."

Grian was taken aback by the words, which were sadly completely true, but then offered a wry smile.

"But you're still _scared_."

The doppelgänger lost his temper. He punched at where the hermit's face was and broke the glass. The builder stumbled back onto the ground, the punch catching him off guard. The reflection looked at his hand. It had tiny shards of glass stuck in it and was bleeding.

" _First blood_ ," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey Grian! What you looking at?" Mumbo called out. The redstoner had just got back from finding a plot of land.

The shadow quickly stuck his injured hand behind his back. "Yeah, I'm good."

The engineer noticed to hole in the glass as he got closer. "What happened here?"

"I don't know," the doppel lied, "I was just walking out to go buy some sea lanterns when I saw it and got distracted."

Mumbo noticed the creature's hand behind it's back, but ignored it for the moment.

"That's strange. Anyway, I found a plot of land over in that direction, so I bought it for us."

"Ooh, that's good," the shadow smiled, "I'll meet you over there once I go buy the sea lanterns, OK?"

The mayoral candidate nodded, and the reflection ran off. Mumbo turned to look at the hole in the glass. Why had "Grian" lied to him about it? Was he just embarrassed that he broke the glass? But then why did it seem so purposeful, you don't just punch a window by mistake. The engineer sighed and flew off towards the plot. If he was going to find out what was wrong with his friend, he couldn't raise _ANY_ suspicion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some respect to you if you know what the summary is quoting.  
> Things are happening, and happening faster. Sorry this is late, I have no work ethic. I got nothing to say really. Just once again, I hope you enjoy <3!


	12. A Forced Facade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lifting her eyes to the large mirror, she saw as if in a dream her father returning to his home. The vision remained in the mirror for only a moment, but she was thankful to the Beast for fulfilling her wish.”  
> -Beauty and the Beast

Grian preferred it when he was being reflected.

It made him sad to see all of his friends laughing and talking with an impostor, but it was worse when he was alone. It was a cold and dark void, where he was perpetually alone. Compared to the empty darkness that was without anyone, he very much enjoyed at least seeing his friends.

He remembered a few days ago, when the creature had been with Mumbo. The hermit had put his hands up against the glass, wanting to be closer. But the redstoner couldn't see him, he just saw a normal reflection on shattered glass. Grian had wanted to break through the glass, tell his friend about the doppelgänger, and about all that had happened. But he couldn't. He had a chance before, and now it was to late. He was trapped in a reflective cage, with no way out. His only hope was that the reflection would slip, and that the hermits would catch on to him. But even then, the shadow definitely wouldn't tell how to get him out, and he would still be trapped.

He finally broke after the creature had left after talking to Mumbo. The darkness overwhelmed him after being so close to safety. He missed the blue skies, the green of the fields and forests, the soothing oceans, and the feeling of the wind through his hair as he flew through the sky. But the thing he missed most was people. The reason he had joined Hermitcraft was because of all the people, and now he was left alone again. But he was in the dark, and all he could do was watch from behind.

* * *

Being human was not all the doppel expected it to be. Every day, people asked if he was doing alright. Every day, he turned them down, saying he was alright. He didn't like being fawned over, and just wanted to be treated normally. But still, nothing went as planned. All he wanted was friends, but he had to avoid people so they didn't clamor all over him.

The reflection walked through town with shulker boxes in his arms, whistling as he went along. He would have sung, but he didn't want people to question what the lyrics were again. He turned a corner to find Tango, BDubs, and Impulse talking to each other.

" _Lets talk to them_ ," the creature thought, trotting over towards the group, " _Try being with people again_."

Tango noticed the doppelgänger first, and put up his hand to wave. "Hey Grian! What's up?"

The shadow made the same gesture and smiled. "Oh, just the usual. Restocking the barge, gathering supplies for the mansion, working on our mayoral campaign, you know."

BDubs gave a smirk. "Why should you work on the mayoral campaign when you know Scar is going to win?"

"I don't know, I think Mumbo has a pretty high chance," the double retorted, "And besides, with what authority can you say that?"

"With the authority of his campaign manager, thank you very much," BDubs replied, "And with what authority can you say?"

"That of a campaign manager as well," the impostor laughed, “But do you really think Scar would be a good mayor? He’d loose the entire throne!”

BDubs was about to make a comeback when Impulse butted in. “I’m confused, can we change the subject? Tango and I don’t have anything to do with the election, so...”

“Oh yeah, sorry. We got carried away,” BDubs apologized, then turned to the reflection, “By the way, does the shop you’re working on have anything to do with your campaign? I saw you and Mumbo working on it the other day and was wondering what it was.”

The creature nodded. “Yep, it’s for the campaign! But,” he tilted his head and smirked, “I’m not gonna tell you what it is. It’s a secret!”

“And you wouldn’t want to give away campaign secrets would you?” BDubs responded.

They all laughed, but then Tango brought up the question the shadow had been hoping to avoid.

“Grian, you been doing alright? It seems you’re doing OK right now, but I’ve heard you’ve been acting strange lately.”

“Yeah, how you doing?” Impulse also asked, “I’ve seen you talk strangely sometimes, you good?”

The doppel scowled. “ _They just **had** to bring it up, huh_,” he thought, “ _Couldn’t keep quiet for **one** conversation_.”

“I’m fine, OK?” he huffed, “Everyone’s been asking that, and it’s getting annoying.”

“Well that’s the thing!” BDubs spoke, “You keep turning down the help people offer you! That’s why everyone’s worried!”

“We’re just trying to help, see?” Impulse finished, “We’re your friends, and we want to make sure you’re alright, no matter what.”

The reflection sighed. He needed to be friendly so as not to be suspicious. Besides, he had wanted friends, right? He should at least tell them the half truth.

“I-, I’m sorry. I just don’t like people doting on me all the time,” the shadow replied, trying to make peace, “It just feels really demeaning and tests my patience more than I can take.”

Tango nodded. “It’s OK, we understand. We just want to be there for you if you need help.”

“You’ve helped us so many times before,” BDubs smiled, “It would only be decent for us to at least _try_ to help you.”

The creature grinned in return. “Thanks, I’m glad you think so,” but then quickly and subtly changed the subject, “So, what were you guys getting up to?”

The three told the doppelgänger about how they had formed a group called “The Boomers”, and they could be hired to blow things up. They laughed and talked, but it wasn’t all peaceful.

Mumbo stood just around the corner,listening in on the shadow’s conversation. He felt slightly guilty, spying on an exchange that he wasn’t a part of. But it was very important for him to lurk around to be able to find out what was wrong with Grian.

The engineer took out a notes and began to write down the builder’s strange behavior.

  1. Grian had been strangely impatient with people nagging on him
  2. He had been avoiding any questions about his behavior 
  3. He had hidden the fact that his hand was hurt when he broke the window 
  4. He randomly forgot things he should have remembered 
  5. He just generally acted _off_



Mumbo underlined the last word, then sighed and closed the book. This was going to be harder than he thought. He felt as if he should ask Grian to make sure he was alright, but a small part of him said that would be the worst possible course of action, and could add more danger to the situation. The redstoner ran his hands through his hair, then rocketed into the sky. He would need to look over the notes and try to remember anything he could. Because deep inside him, he knew.

He _had_ to help his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I managed to publish this before Friday, but it’s 11:42 at night for me so...  
> It still counts.  
> I took longer with this one, but I was quite brain dead for part of it and wanted to really work it out nicely for the other part.  
> I hope you have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night, or whatever time it is. It doesn’t even have to be good. It can be bad, mediocre, or great. Whatever it is for you <3


	13. Tears and Tired Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Feel the fear,  
> And swallow back the tears,  
> Let weakness disappear,  
> There’s nobody but me here,  
> The killer in the mirror”  
> -Killer in the Mirror

The reflection had a slight problem.

Beside all the Grian related issues he had, he also had to now deal with those that come with being a hermit.

He discovered this one morning, when he opened up his ender chest to find he was almost out of diamonds. He looked through multiple times, but there weren't anymore to be found. The shadow shook his head. The majority of Grian's diamonds had been in _his_ ender chest, which he didn't have access to. While he did have a flow of diamonds from the barge, he was still running low.

“I guess I’ll have to go mining,” he said to no one in particular, “Get some more diamonds and stuff.”

He rummaged through his inventory, looking for a pickaxe. Mining was gong to be boring, but it had to be done. Then an idea struck him. Hadn't Scar made a diamond mining challenge? He could do that with Scar, make it more fun!

He pulled up his communicator and messaged the wizard.

 **Grian** : _Hey, you still up for your diamond mining challenge?_

 **Scar** : _Yeah, you wanna do it?_

 **Grian** : _Yep! I'm running low on diamonds, so it would make the mining a lot more fun!_

 **Scar** : _I'm actually open right now, so if you want to head over I can meet you there?_

 **Grian** : _Sure, I'll be right there!_

The creature pulled up his elytra and rockets, launching himself into the sky. He evened out, and then leaned towards the mine. When he was overhead, he leaned down into a dive. He splayed his wings to slow the fall and noticed Scar landing below, wearing a new suit. The second of distraction was two seconds too much. Instead of landing on his feet, he skidded against the ground, bounced up a bit, and then crashed and landed on his face.

Scar burst out laughing, nearly doubling over as he clutched his chest. He tried to say something, but couldn’t keep a straight face long enough to talk and just continued to howl.

The doppelgänger sat up and wiped the dirt off his face. “Ow, that really hurt!”

“I- I- I- I’ll bet!” the wizard cackled, “The- th- that was amazing! How the, _hahaha_ , heck did you d-d-do that!?”

The creature smiled and stood up, brushing himself off. “That didn’t quite go as planned... I got a bit distracted on the way down, heh heh.”

“Didn’t go as planned?!” Scar wheezed, his side’s splitting with laughter, “Dude, that was almost as bad as my crashes! Except I usually have to respawn!”

“Guess I was lucky,” the shadow snickered, “Nice suit, by the way.”

The mayoral candidate wiped laughing tears from his eyes and nodded. “Yep, I got it for the campaign. BDubs said I’d look more respectable if I wasn’t just wearing boxers.”

“Well, I think it’s working, it’s _definitely_ at least somewhat of an upgrade,” the double smirked, “Anyway, you ready to go mining?”

“Yep, let’s go,” Scar replied, pulling out a pickaxe, “We’ll go for an hour or so, then come back here to see who has more diamonds. Got it?”

The creature nodded and followed the wizard into the mine. They set a timer and began mining in separate directions. After an hour, the two returned to the entrance with their newly mined riches.

“We have about the same amount,” Scar noted.

“Yes, but we still have to change it into actual diamonds still,” the reflection pointed out, “With fortune, it’s still anyone’s game.”

They stacked up all the ores and then broke them down into diamonds. They counted out the crystals, and the doppel won by about half a stack.

“Aw, man!” the wizard sighed, “You won, good job.”

“Heheheh, of course I did!” the reflection laughed, and began to craft the blue gems into blocks. He placed them down and looked at his prize. The shiny crystals shone in the sunlight, sparkling reflectively.

Reflectively.

He jumped slightly and put his hand on the block to hide the face scowling back at him. He sighed. Everything just went back to this, no matter how happy he was. He couldn’t escape what he did.

Scar noticed the creature’s actions and spoke up. “Grian, you OK?”

The double snapped back to reality. “Yeah, I’m _fine_.”

“Well you don’t seem fine,” the wizard continued, “You’ve been acting so weird lately, like you aren’t completely in it.”

"Geez, I'm _OK_ ," the shadow retorted, frustration growing, "You don't have to always _fawn_ over me like that. I _really_ hate it."

"Grian, you see, this is the whole problem!" Scar explained, "You've _never_ acted like this before! It's like you're an almost _completely different person_ sometimes!"

"Well maybe I wouldn't be acting strange if you just _got off my back_ ," the creature said, beginning to snap, "It's demeaning and I have no patience for it!"

"I'm just trying to help!" the mayoral candidate said, trying to deescalate the situation, "It just isn't _normal_ for people to act like this, and I'm really, really quite worried."

The doppelgänger tried to keep composure, but just completely broke. "WELL MAYBE I WOULD ACT _NORMAL_ IF YOU TREATED ME LIKE AN _ACTUAL PERSON_!"

Scar looked shocked as the reflection realized what he just said. He looked down guiltily, a burning feeling growing in his eyes as he fought back tears.

"Look, I have other things to do," he said softly, his voice emotionless, "I'll see you later."

The doppel took off into the sky before the wizard could say anything. He wiped the tears that had pooled in his eyes with his sweater sleeve. Why had he done that? It was simple just to brush it off but he never could. He sighed and flew into the nether portal in his tree. Taking deep breaths he headed towards the shopping district to meet up with Mumbo for the campaign.

This time the reflection got to the HQ first. Grumbot smiled at him as he landed on the platform.

“HI DAD! HOW ARE YOU?”

The creature smiled back, pushing the previous occurrence out of his mind. “I’m doing alright, you could say. What’s up with you?”

The robot’s face fell slightly. He wanted to tell his dad what had been happening, but he couldn’t. It would let out the whole secret of investigating him, and that wouldn’t be good. He didn’t want to lie, it went against his programming, but it was needed.

He put on a faux smile and said, “I’VE BEEN PLANNING MORE FOR THE CAMPAIGN! ALSO, I MADE SOME STUFF FOR THE SHOP!”

The double walked up to the machine’s hand to see what he had to show. He had a few items, being a t-shirt with the Mumbo for mayor poster design, the Mumbo for mayor song discs, and some stick-on mustaches.

“Hey, is that the campaign merch?” Mumbo asked, having just arrived.

“YEP!” Grumbot replied happily, then inquired, “BY THE WAY, HOW _IS_ THE SHOP GOING? DO I HAVE A LITTLE BROTHER YET?”

The engineer nodded. “The shop is finished now, we just need to stock him up and connect him to the system.”

The robot looked ecstatic and had to stop himself from clapping. “REALLY? WHAT’S HIS NAME?”

“Jrumbot!” the creature called out, “A mix of your name and Jr!”

The redstoner grinned and looked at his friend, only to see that his eyes were red and slightly swollen, as if he had been crying. He glanced up at Grumbot, who gave him a look that said he had noticed as well.

" _He's definitely not OK_ ," Mumbo thought, " _If something happened that made him that upset, he would surely tell me. Still, I should use this opportunity to maybe gather some more info. But first, play it cool_."

"So what's the plan now?" the mayoral candidate asked, and Grumbot smiled.

"NOW WE NEED TO STOCK UP SHOP SO WE CAN GAIN SUPPORTERS."

"Sounds like a good plan," the shadow echoed, and turned to Mumbo to get his confirmation as well.

Mumbo nodded, then said, "Sounds great! But, uh, Grian can I ask you something?"

The shadow hesitated. Not this again. Not after what had just happened earlier. But he nodded slowly, bracing himself for the words he knew were to come.

"Grian, have you been alright lately?" the engineer continued, "You seem really tired right now."

The double was surprised, but answered. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm OK"

"I just want to make sure," the redstoner nodded, "You have to take care of yourself, you know?"

"Yeah, I should..." the reflection agreed. He suddenly felt really tired. He had spent the morning mining, and the incident with Scar had exhausted him as well. He wanted to go home and just collapse, sleep away everything that had happened that day.

Mumbo smiled. "Don't worry. I can go and drop the stock off with Jrumbot, you can go home and rest. You probably need it."

The shadow smiled and flew off, the sunset shining behind them. The smile quickly faded from his face. He was _TIRED_. It was taking all of his energy to keep from falling into tears, so he quickly went home.

Grumbot waved goodbye, but Mumbo just stared at the spot where the doppelgänger had been standing.

"Did you see that?" he asked the bot, eyes still glued to the spot.

"SEE WHAT?" the machine replied, confused.

"He-, he didn't have a shadow!" the mayoral candidate said, strangely exasperated.

"WHAT?" Grumbot responded, surprised, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. IT'S BASIC SCIENCE!"

"That's what I saw," Mumbo spoke shaking his head, "I'm sure of it. He didn't have one."

"PLAYING ALL PREVIOUS MEMORIES OF DAD." the robot announced. He whirred for a moment, then his face changed to a terrified expression.

"... LAST MEMORY OF SEEING DAD WITH A SHADOW IS WHEN I WROTE THE SONG."

The redstoner looked down to the floor. "After that is when he started acting strange... what does that correlation mean?"

He began to pace back and forth, rambling through all that had happened.

“What happened then to cause this? It must have happened in between those two meetings, and they were only a few days apart. But then what did happen? Ugh, I don’t know! This is beyond me. I need to get help. But who should I ask? Xisuma? He would probably be best, but I don’t even know where to start...”

Grumbot had a furrowed brow and kept whirring. Finally, he said, “MY SOURCES SAY THAT SHADOWS, AND REFLECTIONS, ARE DEEPLY ROOTED IN MAGIC. THEY CAN BE SHIFTED, MORPHED, OR EVEN REMOVED VIA STRONG MAGIC.”

Mumbo snapped his fingers. “Yes! Scar is a wizard, isn’t he? He might know something about what to do...”

He looked up to see the robot looking sadly down.

“Grum, you alright?” he asked softly.

The machine looked at his father, and pictures of tears began to fall down his TV face.

“W-WILL DAD BE ALRIGHT?” he sniffed, “H-HE MIGHT BE REALLY HURT OR, OR EVEN WORSE...”

The redstoner gave a small smile to the bot. “Hey Grum, give me your hand, K?”

The robot put down his hand and Mumbo hopped on top of it. He wobbled a bit as it moved up, but he stabilized himself with the machine’s thumb. When he was on level with the bot’s face, he put his forehead against his.

“It’s going to be OK Grum, I promise. I’ll make sure he’s alright. I have to. He’s my friend.”

Grumbot sniffled. “PROMISE?”

“Promise.” Mumbo nodded, then jumped down.

“I have to go get help. If he comes by, don’t let him in on this, no matter what you do.”

The machine smiled tiredly. “I WON’T. I-, I LOVE YOU DAD.”

Mumbo smiled back. “I love you to Grum,” and then he flew off to go find Scar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, he made Grumbot cry.  
> You know he’s screwed now.  
> He’s gonna have all the Grumbot simps after him (which would include me, but R is my child, so I’ll let it slide... this time)
> 
> But anyway, I would like to say a note about a certain Pinkowls55. You managed to guess the next part of the story. I know that it wasn’t too far fetched, but you got it so exactly and so fast, it was amazing 😂. I literally wheeled three feet back in my chair in surprise. Good job!


	14. Collapse of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I think it’s time,  
> For you to know,  
> The awful truth”  
> -Touch Tone Telephone, By Lemon Demon

The reflection landed in front of the mansion and started to go inside. What was a walk turned into a run, turned into a sprint. By the time he was inside, he was sobbing. He leaned up against the wall and curled up into a ball. It was all too much. He didn’t want to be Grian anymore. He wanted to be his own person. But he _was_ Grian. That was who he _had_ to be. If he wasn't, he would get caught, and that would be even worse. He had accepted the role so easily at first, but now he just couldn’t find the energy for it. He sighed. How could he get out of this? All just seemed lost.

The shadow sat there crying for a time before the idea struck him. They kept _saying_ something was wrong with him. So why couldn't he just live up to it? He could say that he did feel off, and that he just needed some time. People did that, right? After a while, they would get used to him acting different and it would be normal. He jumped up and wiped his eyes.

" _Tomorrow_ ," he thought, " _I'll tell everyone, and then I can finally be normal_."

He walked over to his bed smiling. Everything would finally be alright. He could finally be a person, for the first time. He drifted off to sleep, knowing that things would be alright.

At least he thought.

* * *

Mumbo flew down into the magical village and hurriedly climbed up the ladder to Larry the snail, the wizard’s house. He knocked on the door nervously and waited for a second, then knocked again, harder this time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Scar's voice came through the door, "Give me a moment!"

The wizard opened the door to see the redstoner standing there. "Hey Mumbo! What's up?"

"Hi Scar," he replied nervously, "Can I talk to you? It's, uh, _really_ important."

Scar's expression changed to a concerned one. "Of course! Here, come inside."

The wizard held the door open for the engineer. They went in and sat down.

"So... what's wrong?" Scar asked worriedly.

"Well, it's about Grian..." Mumbo began, "He's been acting strange lately."

"So I've seen," the wizard noted, "I met up with him this morning, and he absolutely blew up on me."

The redstoner nodded. "Really? Well, yeah, stuff like that. Well, Grumbot and I have been investigating, and I noticed something, really, really, well, _strange_."

"What happened?" Scar asked.

"He-, he-," the engineer tried to start, but couldn't. It just felt so surreal, like as if in some nightmare. He finally looked the wizard in the face and said: "Scar, he didn't have a shadow."

The wizard sat for a second in shock. After a minute of silence, he spoke again. "You're joking. Right?"

Mumbo shook his head, voice laced with worry. "It's true. I could hardly believe it as well, but I saw it myself. Grum even check all his memories, and it disappeared a while back."

Scar stood up. "How could this... oh this is bad... really bad... do you-, do you have any idea what could have happened?"

"No," the redstoner replied, his voice strained, "But he started acting _really_ strange around the time his shadow disappeared. Grum said shadows are related to magic, so I thought I'd head to you..."

"Well, you were right to head to me, this is " the wizard echoed, "A missing shadow is linked to very strong magic, and isn’t to be taken lightly. I need more info, what other weird things was he doing?"

"Well," Mumbo began, "Grian's been strangely impatient, forgetting things he should have remembered, and, oh yeah! The other day, he broke one of the barge windows but tried to hide it. I'm not sure why though..."

Scar's eyes grew wide, and he began to pace worriedly. "He broke the glass... his shadow is gone... and earlier he started acting strange when he saw his reflection..."

The engineer looked equally as terrified after hearing this. "Grum also said that reflections can be related to magic... c-could that be it?"

"Ugh, why didn't I think of this before!" the wizard realized, and turned to the other hermit, "Grian and I went end busting a while back, he said he found a _weird mirror_. It had a spell in galactic text and everything! He must have done it, even after I told him not to..."

"He did what?" Mumbo said, surprised, "Of course he would though... Well what should we do now? We can’t just leave him! What if he gets hurt?”

Scar wheeled round. “We have to go investigate! Go to the end, find the mirror, see what we can find out!”

“And not tell Grian, I’m guessing,” the redstoner inquired.

“Not under ANY circumstances,” the other hermit affirmed, “He can NOT know. If he finds out, I don’t know WHAT will happen, but it WON’T be good.”

“Let’s go then,” the engineer said, standing up, “The sooner, the better. We don’t know how bad it might get, or even how bad it already is.”

The two ran out and flew up to the sky. They headed for the stronghold, only worry on their minds. Mumbo knew that it was bad, but Scar knew much more. The wizard had no idea _what_ had happened, but for a shadow to disappear, it must have been something _terrible_. He hoped that the mirror could tell him something, but he wasn’t completely sure it would work. For all he knew, the mirror could be gone, disappeared via the magic that had made it. He could only hope that it would work.

He could only hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are beginning to fall into place, getting into position for the climax 😏  
> On a side note, I’m gonna be starting a new fan fic this week, another hermitcraft one, so if you like this one, you’ll prolly like the one I have planned. You might even like it better, actually, there’s a lot more, let’s say...
> 
> Trauma ;)


End file.
